Americans spend about 90 percent of their food budget on processed foods. That is nearly 9 percent of their total income.

* * *Flamin’ Hot Crunchy Cheese Cheetos = Corn meal enriched (corn meal, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid). Nearly 1/3 of all corn crops in America have been genetically modified. +Salt: High salt intake is a major cause of cardiovascular disease and increases the risks of heart attack and stroke. One serving size of this packaged food contains 9% of daily sodium intake. +Sugar: Promotes obesity, tooth decay, and heart disease in people with high triglycerides. +Food starch modified: May contain gluten. May cause diarrhea in infants. Most likely genetically modified. +Monosodium glutamate (MSG): Shown to destroy the nerve cells in the brains of laboratory mice. May cause allergic reactions ranging from migraines, seizures and other nervous system disorders. Also known for the emissions of toxins made during its production that can pollute ground and drinking water. +Yeast extract autolyzed: Often contains MSG . +Colors artificial include (red 40 lake, yellow 6 lake, yellow 6, yellow 5). Red 40 lake is an artificial color that many tests have show to be harmful. It has been banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria and Norway. Yellow 6 has been proven to increase the incidence of tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney in lab animals, and has multiple known carcinogens, and has therefore been banned in Norway. Yellow 5 is a coal-tar derivative that is reputed to be a catalyst in ADD, asthma, migraines, thyroid cancer, and lupis. +Soybean oil partially hydrogenated: Contains trans fatty acids that enter cell membranes, block normal cell function, and cause a rise in blood pressure. +Cottonseed oil partially hydrogenated: Contains trans fatty acids that enter cell membranes, block normal cell function, and cause a rise in blood pressure. +Soy protein hydrolyzed: Often contains MSG. +Corn syrup solids: Considered to be a contributor to obesity. +Natural flavors: FDA does not require listing ingredients that fall under the FDA’s list of natural flavors even though some products may contain hundreds of compounds and chemicals and may even include substances that many people have allergies to like MSG or HVP. +Disodium inosinate: May be prepared from meat or sardines. May trigger gout and is not permitted in foods for infants and young children. +Disodium guanylate: May be prepared from yeast or sardines. May trigger gout and is not permitted in foods for infants and young children. +Sodium caseinate: May contain MSG. +Other Ingredients Generally Recognized as Safe for Consumption: maltodextrin, cheese cheddar (milk cultured, salt, enzymes), vegetable oil contains one or more of the following (corn oil, soybean oil (or), sunflower oil), sodium diacetate, disodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, sodium citrate, whey, onion powder, whey protein concentrate, buttermilk solids, garlic powder, lactic acid, milk non-fat solids, carrageenan.

Diet Mountain Dew = Carbonated water: Studies suggest that the rise in esophageal cancer in the US is associated with the rise in consumption of carbonated beverages. +Nutrasweet brand of aspartame: Tests on lab animals have shown a connection between low doses of aspartame and leukemia, lymphoma, and brain tumors. Lifetime consumption of aspartame is likely carcinogenic and the cause of multiple neurological disorders. Originally considered unfit for consumption by the FDA, Nutrasweet hired Donald Rumsfeld to pressure the legalization of the product. +Potassium benzoate: Known to cause headaches, intestinal upset, hyperactivity in children, and may cause asthmatics to react badly. +Caffeine: Increases the risk of miscarriages in pregnant women and inhibits fetal growth. Consumption of more than 2 servings a day may increase the risk of osteoporosis. +Natural flavors: FDA does not require listing ingredients that fall under the FDA’s list of natural flavors even though some products may contain hundreds of compounds and chemicals and may even include substances that many people have allergies to like MSG or HVP. +Brominated vegetable oil: Leaves small residues in body fat that may be carcinogenic. Banned in the UK, Canada, and California has declared that baked goods containing more than a certain level of the chemical must bear a cancer warning on the label. +Yellow 5: A coal-tar derivative that is reputed to be a catalyst in ADD, asthma, migranes, thyroid cancer, and lupis. +Other Ingredients Generally Recognized as Safe for Consumption: Orange juice concentrated, Citric acid, Citrus pectin, Potassium citrate, Gum arabic, Erythorbic acid.